I expect Bonner to want a trade to Indiana. If she does demand a trade I'm not sure who the Fever would give up, maybe the lottery pick, and January for #8, Bonner, and Robinson.This would work out well for the Mercury, but I'm not sure why the Fever would do it. It would only make their issues a couple more years. If a trade happened, Phoenix would be scary, if the got Stevens or Wilson.
Mitchell/January/ 2nd round pick
Taurasi/Turner
Currie/Prince
Wilson or Stevens/Little/George or Cannnon
Griner/Robinson
If no trade happens I don't really see a player that will be there at #8 that fits what they need. Will Mitchell, George, and Cannon show up next year? Phoenix should really try to develop Prince, athletic 6'2 guards don't come knocking every day. Some Free Agents Phoenix could target are Breland, Howard, and Lavender.
Mitchell/Robinson
Taurasi/Turner
Bonner/Currie/Prince
Little/George/Cannon
Griner Robinson

I expect Bonner to want a trade to Indiana. If she does demand a trade I'm not sure who the Fever would give up, maybe the lottery pick, and January for #8, Bonner, and Robinson.This would work out well for the Mercury, but I'm not sure why the Fever would do it. It would only make their issues a couple more years. If a trade happened, Phoenix would be scary, if the got Stevens or Wilson.
Mitchell/January/ 2nd round pick
Taurasi/Turner
Currie/Prince
Wilson or Stevens/Little/George or Cannnon
Griner/Robinson
If no trade happens I don't really see a player that will be there at #8 that fits what they need. Will Mitchell, George, and Cannon show up next year? Phoenix should really try to develop Prince, athletic 6'2 guards don't come knocking every day. Some Free Agents Phoenix could target are Breland, Howard, and Lavender.
Mitchell/Robinson
Taurasi/Turner
Bonner/Currie/Prince
Little/George/Cannon
Griner Robinson

No way do I want the Fever to give up a lottery pick for a 30/31 year old coming back from pregnancy, a back up guard, and the 8. Fever need to look for the future and that's not Bonner and DRob.

I expect Bonner to want a trade to Indiana. If she does demand a trade I'm not sure who the Fever would give up, maybe the lottery pick, and January for #8, Bonner, and Robinson.This would work out well for the Mercury, but I'm not sure why the Fever would do it. It would only make their issues a couple more years. If a trade happened, Phoenix would be scary, if the got Stevens or Wilson.
Mitchell/January/ 2nd round pick
Taurasi/Turner
Currie/Prince
Wilson or Stevens/Little/George or Cannnon
Griner/Robinson
If no trade happens I don't really see a player that will be there at #8 that fits what they need. Will Mitchell, George, and Cannon show up next year? Phoenix should really try to develop Prince, athletic 6'2 guards don't come knocking every day. Some Free Agents Phoenix could target are Breland, Howard, and Lavender.
Mitchell/Robinson
Taurasi/Turner
Bonner/Currie/Prince
Little/George/Cannon
Griner Robinson

That would be an absolutely terrible move for the Fever, especially if Bonner actually wants to go to Indiana.

Why sign Hooper and let Talbot go? Hooper can only do 1 thing and that is shooting 3's. She is a horrible defender. You forget that Talbot is a rookie and that she is still very young. I like her defensive potential and that she can knock down those outside shots (38% from 3) They should give her some time. Yes she dropped out of the rotation but she played pretty decent for them this season IMO.

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant

Why sign Hooper and let Talbot go? Hooper can only do 1 thing and that is shooting 3's. She is a horrible defender. You forget that Talbot is a rookie and that she is still very young. I like her defensive potential and that she can knock down those outside shots (38% from 3) They should give her some time. Yes she dropped out of the rotation but she played pretty decent for them this season IMO.

Because it's addition by subtraction.Getting rid of Talbot opens up the door for Prince.As long as Brondello is the HC,Prince will always play second fiddle to Talbot.Prince put up 9p/3r/2s/1b/4-6/1-1 in 17 minutes vs LA...then had 2 DNP's in a row .That's a load of B.S....This isn't a Hooper vs Talbot situation.I prefer to look at it as choosing Prince > Talbot .

NorCal native Danielle Robinson will be 29 next May and is coming off her worst year -- not to mention an Achilles' injury that has had a major impact on many players her age.

I never understood why Phoenix signed her, as you need to surround Griner with shooters so opponents can't doubleteam Griner every time she touches the ball. With Robinson in the game, whoever is guarding her can fly to Griner as soon as the entry pass is in the air, and Robinson really can't punish that move.

But then again, I don't know what Robinson brings in the trade market. A second rounder, maybe, but her PER in 2015, before she was hurt, was 11.4, below average (though PER doesn't properly account for her defensive abilities).

Unless I missed an injury, DRob was benched for virtually the entire game yesterday. And when they wanted someone to come in specifically to guard Chelsea Gray, they went to Talbot. Considering they got Mitchell for nothing as a free agent (and eventually realised she was the better option), that trade for DRob turned out to be a real bust. There's every chance they'd have blown the #5 pick (or just never played Player X), but they might've used it in a more productive transaction, or lucked into someone like Sykes. Plus they gave up Harrison, obviously.

I'm unsure whether Robinson is still under contract, but even if she is I seriously doubt they're getting a good pick and a young player with potential in return for her now. You look round the league and don't see too many teams who'd want her as more than a backup right now. It's a shame. Even if she could never extend her range beyond 15ft, she was a lot of fun to watch in full flow.

Can take a long time to recover from achilles injury so maybe she will do better next season. (Of course some never do.) If any team is willing to trade a lottery pick (excluding those who did so before they knew it to be a lottery pick) it would be Indiana. They don't like missing playoffs and traded last years pick plus Kizer for Dupre.

Can take a long time to recover from achilles injury so maybe she will do better next season. (Of course some never do.) If any team is willing to trade a lottery pick (excluding those who did so before they knew it to be a lottery pick) it would be Indiana. They don't like missing playoffs and traded last years pick plus Kizer for Dupre.

Indiana hasn't had a lottery picks since 2005. There is no way they trade it.

PUmatty -Probably more intuition than anything, but I've been a Pacer's fan since 1967 and the Fever are always my second favorite team. The teams have the same owner. I recall a statement made to the effect that Herb Simon didn't like the Pacers being in the lottery - he always wanted a team he could be proud off, so making the playoffs was always an important goal even if the team was not a true contender. Last year the Fever traded Kizer and their FRP for Dupre, which clearly seemed like a move designed to improve the present at the expense of the future. Dupre seemed she might be running out of gas so I was not a fan of the move. It might actually turn out to be a good move, but at the time it seemed like move designed to keep them in the playoffs. Hiring Pokey an experienced coach, but one w/o a high upside also seemed kind of designed to keep the team in "win now" mode rather than taking a risk on a less experienced coach. Indy has a pretty good fan base, but losing seasons don't go down well with Hoosiers.

Of course, if you have compelling evidence to the contrary I will be happy to acknowledge I'm wrong.

Unless I missed an injury, DRob was benched for virtually the entire game yesterday. And when they wanted someone to come in specifically to guard Chelsea Gray, they went to Talbot. Considering they got Mitchell for nothing as a free agent (and eventually realised she was the better option), that trade for DRob turned out to be a real bust. There's every chance they'd have blown the #5 pick (or just never played Player X), but they might've used it in a more productive transaction, or lucked into someone like Sykes. Plus they gave up Harrison, obviously.

I'm unsure whether Robinson is still under contract, but even if she is I seriously doubt they're getting a good pick and a young player with potential in return for her now. You look round the league and don't see too many teams who'd want her as more than a backup right now. It's a shame. Even if she could never extend her range beyond 15ft, she was a lot of fun to watch in full flow.

Ill take her on the Storm for sure. Get her as a RFA or FA (dont know her status) or trade a 2nd round pick or KML. Let her backup Bird next season (Bird can finally play less then 30 minutes per game) and a chance to show that she can return to 90% from that injury.
If she doesnt fit (we have enough players that can shoot the 3 though Stewart Loyd and Clark on the starting unit) or cant cut in then we havent lost anything. If she does regain her former form then we might have a decent successor for Bird.

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant

Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi will not have 10 new teammates like this season

Quote:

"Our biggest challenge early in the year was getting people to do certain things we've been accustomed to," Taurasi said. "Filling in roles, feeling comfortable on the court. That takes time and our season goes by so fast.

Quote:

With an 18-16 record, the Mercury were the No. 5 seed going into the playoffs – up three from 2016 – and again won first- and second-round, single-elimination games to make a best-of-5 semifinal.

Under contract

Quote:

Taurasi and Griner are under contract for 2018, as are point guards Leilani Mitchell and Danielle Robinson and rookies Stephanie Talbot and Alexis Prince.

UFA

Quote:

Forward Camille Little and guard Monique Currie are unrestricted free agents, free to sign with any team. Little started every game and was a defensive presence throughout the season.

Reserved

Quote:

Others on this year's roster were guard Yvonne Turner, a starter at the end of the season, posts Emma Cannon, Cayla George and Angel Robinson. They are not under contract, but the Mercury retains their rights. The 6-6 Robinson, signed June 28, is especially intriguing because of her potential in tandem with Griner.

The Mercury also retain the rights to 6-2 forward Sonja Petrovic and guard Marta Xargay, who sat out this season partly to play in the EuroBasket qualifier for the 2018 World Cup. "I have a lot of respect for both those players," Brondello said. "They could help us if that's what they want to do. We'll reach out to them in due course."

Core

Quote:

The Mercury are likely to give Bonner their core player designation, giving them exclusive negotiating rights.

Bonner and her spouse, former Mercury forward Candice Dupree, would like to play together next season so they can be in the same city. Dupree now is with the Indiana Fever. The Mercury want Bonner back, envisioning her in the starting lineup again like most of 2016.

Taurasi said Bonner has been "one of the top four or five players in the world" in recent years. "She impacts the game in so many different ways. When you have a 6-4 wing player, you have to guard her, and you know what she brings defensively and rebound-wise, where at times we struggled this year."

Draft

Quote:

Phoenix will pick eighth in the first round of the 2018 WNBA draft, which Pitman said is the "best in 10 years as far as depth."

Taurasi

Quote:

Taurasi plans for this to be her final season in Russia but if healthy and playing well, the WNBA career scoring leader could continue through 2020 with the Mercury.

"I wake up every morning with a different feeling, that i want to play basketball or go to an island," Taurasi said. "Right now I'm still enjoying basketball. I still feel that competitive spirit. I'm anxious already to get back next May. There's only one goal, to win a championship. Every year you fall short of it, you leave with a little sour taste in your mouth."

Make some hard decisions if and when Petrovic and Xargay show up but the two of them and Vadeeva might miss time with Worlds anyway.

That is 5 first four year contracts 5 max contracts and 2 high to max contracts is that possible, and that is before Patrovic are Xargay arrive so I'm guessing this is too expensive for the season.

You probably have to trade Robinson (for a very late first round to mid second round pick), or just not bring back Little (along with Currie who i already did not include above) to make it work.

Also I wish all the teams put out articles like this one it great knowing who is an UFA, who is a RFA and who is reserved. As well as getting some insight as to what the players and coaches think such as Brondello's comments or Xargay and Petrovic and DT's comments on Bonner.

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant